After Earth Part 1
by mittengal
Summary: What happened when Atlantis returned to Pegasus


Chapter 1

The journey back to Pegasus was uneventful. Everyone was happy to arrive and no one regretted leaving Earth behind.

First on the agenda was determining what was happening with the Wraith. Had they all come to Earth and been destroyed? Or had some stayed behind? No more Wraith seemed just too good to be true!

After getting settled in, teams were sent out to survey the various planets. Contact had been made with the Athosians, who reported no trace of any Wraith. Other settlements were contacted, all giving the same report. Many settlements were very backward in technology and would need to be visited for questioning. No one was comfortable about contacting the Genii, who had proved untrustworthy in the past. But they also had concerns about the Wraith, plus the present leader, Ladon Radim, was more cooperative and less devious, than previous leaders. They had detected no Wraith activity.

Teyla was overjoyed to see her people again. Torren did remember his father Kanaan, and there was a happy reunion, tho the child was happy to return to Atlantis with Teyla.

Ronon was relieved to be back home and away from what he considered a crazy planet-totally upside down and backwards! He was anxious to find out what was happening with Sateda.

Amelia was glad to be away from Earth, back at her console, and seeing Ronon less anxious.

Col. Sheppard was glad to be done with Woolsey's job, and the endless paperwork. He and Major Lorne looked forward to leading off world missions again.

Mr. Woolsey was grateful to be back in charge of Atlantis, and done with the tedious, seemingly endless negotiations with the IOA.

Rodney was thrilled with the additional ZPM's and threw himself into discovering everything about them. With more personnel, and hopefully less threat from the Wraith, the expedition could move forward scientifically. Much of Atlantis still was unexplored. He still had times of sadness over Jennifer's betrayal, but work and the presence of his sister Jeannie helped a lot. He was fond of his niece Madison, tho he would never admit it, insisting kids were just a nuisance.

He and Katie Brown spent a lot of time together, but as friends only. There was lots of speculation about them, which irritated Rodney. Katie's phallic cacti were still the objects of jokes, especially the one she had given Ronon and Amelia for a wedding gift. She asked them once, in the crowded mess hall, if it was getting bigger.

Jeannie and Joe Smith were seeing each other, and Madison approved. Rodney was still somewhat disapproving, since Joe trained in fighting with Ronon. "A scientist should not be a caveman," he proclaimed, which gave them all a good laugh.

No one missed Kavanagh or the gossip sisters.

Chapter 2

Visits to the many settlements turned up no Wraith activity. Some of them were hard to contact, as they lived in underground caverns, the entrances hidden and sometimes booby trapped. Many began moving above ground, tho still cautious.

One settlement was very difficult to reach. There were booby traps, often several, and the entrances were well hidden. Ronon was cautious when approaching them, and his tracking skills had saved them several times. He remembered the traps he had set for the Wraith hunters in his Runner days. After disarming three traps, the team found an entrance, but were attacked by two sentries. Dodging for cover, Sheppard yelled they were from Atlantis. But the sentries kept firing. They used clumsy home made guns, but they still could wound or kill. The team did not want to hurt them, and were eventually able to stun and tie them up. More fighters showed up, and they would not believe the team were friends, but called them Wraith worshipers. Then a young man called out to hold their fire while he talked to the intruders. The others objected, but he convinced them to trust him. He approached the team with hands raised. He was wearing an eye patch, and Sheppard felt there was something familiar about him. Then Teyla said "Aiden Ford-is that you?"

"Yes," he answered. Then turned to the others, saying,"They're not Wraith worshipers, they're friends!"

The people were then friendly and even apologized. The leader invited the team to their village, further back in the caverns. They had built a comfortable living area, only venturing out to hunt and forage at night. They mostly avoided the culling beams, tho some people had been lost. Many Wraith had been killed by the traps, which earned high praise from Ronon.

Ford explained what had happened to him. He was recaptured by the Wraith and used as slave labor. His health began to fail and he was then used to check out traps at various underground settlements. At this village, he was seriously injured by a trap. The Wraith were caught in a second trap, and all were killed or injured. The surviving Wraith left Ford to die. The villagers took care of him, and he eventually recovered, tho blind in one eye.

He remembered fighting with Ronon, and also seeing Rodney hanging upside down, caught in one of Ronon's Wraith traps.

"You almost killed me!" Rodney whined. Then turning to Ronon, "And you could have let me down more gently!"

"I should have just left you hanging!" Ronon answered.

Sheppard asked Ford if he wanted to return to Atlantis.

Ford looked surprised. "Are you sure you want me around after I put Wraith enzyme in your food? Well, not yours, but Ronon's and Teyla's. I feel ashamed when I think of that, weak and ashamed that my head was so messed up by the Wraith!" Ford exclaimed, unable to look at any of them.

Ronon cleared his throat. "Let's talk," he said.

Ronon usually avoided talking, but Sheppard had an idea what was going on. "How about you show Teyla and I around some more?" Sheppard asked the village leader.

"Come and see the new toilets we're building," he said.

"We would love to see them!" Sheppard said, and the group left Ronon and Ford alone.

Ronon looked uncomfortable, not knowing where to begin.

"What?" asked Ford.

"Don't feel ashamed about what the Wraith did to you," Ronon began.

"If I was stronger I would have resisted the enzyme's effects," said Ford.

Ronon proceeded to tell about his reunion with the Satedans turned Wraith worshipers, Tyre's betrayal, and how he finally broke under torture and the enzyme. Before his rescue by the team, he was ready to fight for the Wraith against Atlantis. "After I recovered physically, I was so full of guilt and shame, I wanted to die. But that would have been cowardly and dishonorable for a Satedan. Then I remembered that when I took their oath, 'I will fight our enemies, Atlantis', I could not say 'our', I said 'your'. They could not force me to say 'our.' I was able to forgive myself. I'm not big on the forgiveness thing, but the one person you can't run from is yourself. You were messed up but you still wanted to kill Wraith. Think about it!"

Ford looked at Ronon, astonished. "If they could break you, they could break anyone!"

Ronon shrugged, his throat felt dry from talking so much. "Ask Sheppard to tell you about the time he almost turned into an Iratus bug!"

Ford felt grateful to the villagers for saving him and welcoming him into their community, but they were planning to return to their home world, which was more suited to farming. He knew he was not a farmer, and he also wanted to contact his grandparents, who had raised him after his parents died in a car crash.

"I visited your grandparents while we were on Earth," Sheppard told him. "They have not given up on you."

"I want to talk to them, maybe visit if I could," said Ford.

"I will clear it with Mr. Woolsey," Sheppard told him. "You will need a medical exam and maybe your eye can be fixed."

But unfortunately there was nothing to be done for his eye, and the doctor recommended removing it. A prosthetic eye was offered, but after the surgery, Ford said he liked the pirate look and kept the eye patch.

He was on board the Daedalus in a few weeks, on his way to Earth. Sheppard told him to take his time and decide what he wanted to do. A few weeks later, he contacted Sheppard.

"I've decided to stay here. My grandparents are getting on in years and the big house is a lot of upkeep. I've been offered a security job, but I need discharge papers from the Marine Corps."

"I will arrange it, and best of luck!" Sheppard told him.

Ford had spoken of a group of Wraith worshipers who had come to their settlement once but had not gotten past the traps. One was mortally injured and left behind. Before he died, he talked crazy-about sacrifices to their Masters, and 'ascending' to become Wraith. Ford didn't know if the man was delirious or what. Sheppard wanted to check it out.

Most of the settlements had heard of this group, some reporting being attacked and people abducted. They seemed to favor the more backward settlements. The Athosians had heard of them but had not seen them. No one knew where they lived, and they were said to materialize out of nowhere, and vanish with their captives.

Questioning on various missions turned up nothing definite, and there were no further sightings or attacks. Sheppard wondered if word of Atlantis' return had made them cautious.

Chapter 3

The team was headed toward a small world at the edge of the Galaxy, which had not been visited since their return. There was an area where ships' controls had behaved erratically in the past, so it was avoided. Rodney had wanted to check it out, but the trip to Earth had postponed it. Sheppard said first things first, and tried to go around the strange area. But some space debris, remains of two hive ships which were casualties of the many Wraith civil wars, blocked the way. Sheppard steered the jumper around the debris, but was surprised to be caught in a force field which pulled the small ship into the questionable area. The controls began giving erratic readings. Rodney was happy-now he could analyze the problem, and began chattering excitedly. Ronon was not happy-he felt an overpowering sense of foreboding, and told Rodney to shut up. Sheppard told them both to shut up, as he struggled to control the jumper, which was now being pulled downward. The screens showed nothing below them, but other readings showed some kind of surface. Suddenly Teyla gasped and cried out, "I sense Wraith!"

The ship was pulled faster, and suddenly passed thru an extremely bright light. "Cover your eyes!" Sheppard yelled. Ronon and Teyla already had, tho not Rodney. Ronon threw his heavy leather coat over Rodney's head as they passed thru the blinding light. Then a planet was seen on the screens-they were heading for a crash and nothing could stop it. Suddenly the jumper slowed and began a controlled descent, landing roughly but not the expected crash.

They looked at one another, wondering what had just happened. Rodney was struggling with Ronon's coat, finally getting free of it. "I almost suffocated!" he whined.

"Would you rather be blind?" Ronon asked.

The screens had gone dark and nothing was seen out the windshield. The bulkhead door was jammed by the rough landing, but Ronon and Sheppard managed to get it open. Waiting outside were six Wraith drones, who stunned them before anyone could shoot.

As usual, Ronon was the first to awake, feeling the familiar headache and nausea. Looking around, he recognized the typical Wraith prison cell tho it seemed to be in a cavern, rather then the expected organic walls and floor. Only the bars were the usual organic tissue, with a force field. He sat up, leaning on the wall, waiting for the others to come around. Next would be either Sheppard or Teyla, then Rodney last. He thought of Amelia and felt a pang he had never felt before. Life was simpler when alone, but he did not want to go back. It made him more determined to find a way out.

Teyla then woke up, and Sheppard soon after. Rodney snored on.

The three were discussing their predicament, especially the lack of weapons. Ronon checked for his hidden knives, and only found one. "Whoever frisked us missed this," he said, pulling a small but sharp knife, in a sheath, from his hair. After cutting off his dreadlocks, his short hair had grown nearly to his shoulders, and he tied it at the back of his neck with a thin strip of leather. The small knife was hidden there. "Better than nothing," he said.

Then a loud groan was heard, as Rodney woke up. "Ow, this floor is hard!"

"Stone usually is," replied Sheppard.

Rodney lay on the floor, trying to get comfortable, while the others walked around the cell, looking for an escape. None was found. The control panel for the cell door, which at another Wraith prison Ronon had opened with a thrown knife, was not seen.

"Get up and walk around," Sheppard told Rodney, "In case we get a chance to make a run for it."

"How can that happen?" he lamented. "There's no way out of here and no one knows where we are. We're doomed!"

"I sent a distress call as we were going down," Sheppard said. "I don't know if it got thru. If it did, we can be traced."

"But they will be caught like we were!" Rodney said.

"It will be obvious something went wrong, in that strange area of space. I have faith in Zelenka and the other scientists," Sheppard replied.

"But the're not as smart as I am!" wailed Rodney.

Ronon pulled him roughly to his feet, which resulted in a loud "Ow!"

Before Rodney could say any more, Sheppard said "Quiet!" They heard footsteps echoing on the cavern walls, coming closer.

A Wraith Commander, flanked by two drones, walked to the bars. The group had moved to the back of the cell, Ronon's knife hidden in his hand. They stared at one another in the dim light. "John Shhheppard," said the Commander, drawing the name out, hissing the 'S.' "We meet again."

"Todd!" Sheppard exclaimed. "I thought you were dead. No such luck I guess."

"Just like a bad penny!"exclaimed Rodney.

Ronon wondered what a penny had to do with anything, and wished his knife was in Todd's throat.

Teyla said nothing, she had been expecting Wraith to show up, but never expected Todd.

"I could kill all of you right now," Todd replied. "But I would prefer to be more civilized."

"Civilized?" Rodney said angrily. "Locking us in this awful cell?"

"As I was locked up on Atlantis," Todd answered. "I would enjoy showing you around if you promise not to resist."

Then he laughed his creepy Wraith laugh, looking from one to the other, finally leaving his gaze on Ronon.

"Ahhh, my Satedan friend! I know you would kill me in a second!"

"Never your friend and I would take great pleasure in it!" Ronon growled, barely containing his fury.

"The choice is yours," said Todd. "Do not resist, and you will be restrained, resist and you will be again stunned, but still restrained."

"Some choice," Sheppard said.

"I'm sure you are all thirsty and hungry. May I offer you a meal? I will then show you the sights. You will be impressed. Especially you, my scientist friend," Todd said, looking at Rodney.

"I'm not your friend," said Rodney, sounding a little squeaky.

Two more drones appeared, carrying restraints. This made one drone for each team member, all pointing stunners at them. Todd touched a place on the wall, around the corner from the cell, and the door went up into the ceiling. All were handcuffed behind their backs, and attached to a heavy belt around the waist, as Todd had been restrained on Atlantis. Their ankles were shackled and connected to the belt. They were marched thru a series of caverns, finally arriving at an organic Wraith style door, which opened onto a hive ship. They were ushered into a large room with a table and chairs, and seated. Stationed around the room were humans, or at least they looked human. But they stood motionless, eyes vacant. Todd motioned to them and two disappeared into another room, soon returning with bowls of fruit and jugs of water, which they placed on the table.

"Are we supposed to eat with no hands?" Sheppard asked. Todd again motioned and two humans released their hands long enough to attach the handcuffs to the front of the belt, allowing enough use of hands to eat. The drones had moved close, aiming their stunners.

"Eat and drink! Don't worry, it's not poisoned. That would be a waste of food," said Todd, with more evil laughter.

They were thirsty and hungry. The water was fresh and the fruit was good tasting, but hardly a full meal.

"Aren't you joining us?" Sheppard asked, sarcastically.

"Occasionally I indulge in human food, but it just doesn't do it for me!" Todd replied.

After eating, Rodney asked, "Are they robots?" indicating the humans, who only moved when ordered.

"No, they are indeed mortal humans," Todd replied. "I know you have many questions, which will be answered in good time."

Chapter 4

Sheppard's team was not overdue, but Amelia, working her shift at the Gate, had an uneasy feeling. It increased when she picked up the garbled distress signal, which had ended abruptly. Repeated attempts to contact Sheppard went unanswered. Radek Zelenka and the rest of the scientific team were working on tracing where it had originated. They were puzzled.

"Something is very odd," Radek told Mr. Woolsey. "The readings show nothing where the jumper was last detected. Like it disappeared, but no hyperspace window was opened. It is the area where the controls react strangely. Rodney wanted to check it out but never got the chance, other than making some notes. They had to pass near it on the way to the planet they were visiting, but Sheppard could have easily avoided the area. We will keep working on it."

Jeannie Miller was very worried about Rodney. Joe Smith was trying his best to comfort her. "I just can't lose my brother, when we have finally become close again," she said, trying to keep the tears back. She was glad Madison was taking a long exam for her internet chemistry class.

"They have been in bad situations before and always come thru. He has Ronon, Sheppard, and Teyla to protect him," said Joe. But he was worried himself. They were having lunch in the mess hall, but Jeannie had no appetite. Joe was encouraging her to eat a little. Suddenly she looked at him and said, "Come with me to Rodney's lab. I have an idea."

The lab was at first glance rather cluttered, but Jeannie knew it was exactly as Rodney wanted it, and he knew where everything was. She got on his computer and soon retrieved some files. "Look here Joe," she said. "He was trying to figure out what caused the jumper controls to, as he put it, go crazy. Maybe we could do some reverse engineering?"

"Why don't we get Radek to help," Joe replied.

"Good idea," Jeannie said, feeling better now that she was doing something that might help the situation.

Soon Joe returned with Radek, and the three put their minds to the task.

"I believe it is a certain type of force field," Radek said, after studying Rodney's notes. "It could act like a cloak and render a ship, or even a planet, invisible. As well as disrupt the energy flow of another ship. I have listened to the transmission from Sheppard over and over. It sounds like he says 'pulled down' in one part. Of course, it is horribly garbled, but I swear that's what he says."

"Could it be a natural phenomenon?" Joe asked.

"More likely one that has been modified for camouflage. Maybe to hide a planet from the Wraith?" said Radek.

"Or a faction of Wraith hiding from their own?" Jeannie said.

"Possible," Radek said. "Before our trip to Earth, there had been much infighting between the various factions."

"A rescue rescue mission would be complicated," said Joe. "Not good if another team ended up in the same spot as Sheppard's."

"I have some ideas. I will begin immediately to work on a way to override the force field," said Radek.

"Need help?" asked Joe.

"As the saying goes, more heads are better than one!" Radek said, as he headed for his lab, the other two following.

Chapter 5

Todd motioned for the human servants, who had been standing at attention, to reattach the prisoners' handcuffs again to the back of their belts. "Come," he ordered. The drones prodded them with their stunners. Ronon resisted and was given a blast, tho he managed to stay on his feet. If looks could kill, the Wraith would all be dead.

"Please don't resist," Teyla whispered to him. "It will give Todd much pleasure to see your distress."

Ronon nodded.

"Resistance is futile!" whispered Rodney.

"Shut up!" Ronon told him.

"Don't make it worse!" Teyla said sternly to Rodney, who hung his head and muttered to himself.

Sheppard simply rolled his eyes.

They were taken to a large room which reminded Sheppard of a mad scientist's laboratory in an old horror movie. There were coils and tubing everywhere, all running to large glass liquid filled jars. Some were bubbling, some steaming, and some contained what looked like embryos in various stages of development. About a dozen Wraith were working, along with several of the robotic looking humans.

"This is our decanting chamber," said Todd.

"Are those what I think they are-human embryos?" asked Sheppard.

"Exactly!" Todd replied with a smug smile. "I'm impressed you recognized what they are."

"I did take high school biology," Sheppard replied.

"Decanting! Like in Brave New World." Rodney said.

Ronon looked even more furious and Teyla looked ill, thinking of Torren.

"Looks like you grow your own food and slaves," Sheppard said.

"Precisely," Todd answered. "We will now return to the dining room and I will tell you the whole story."

"Many years ago," Todd began, "No one remembers exactly how many, a hive ship crashed on this planet, which is surrounded by an unusual force field. This field acts as a cloak and also causes ships' controls to malfunction. The hive was severely damaged and many of the Wraith aboard died, including the Queen. The remaining Wraith fed on the local inhabitants, which healed their injuries. Then they set about repairing the hive. But it took many months to regrow and by that time, they had decided to stay. Civil war had been raging and their hive was a small one, sure to be destroyed eventually. The cloaked planet was a safe refuge, complete with food. The scientists studied the force field and learned how to control it. An alarm goes off if a ship approaches and the force field pulls the ship toward the planet. The two wrecked hive ships were already there, and aided the process. The descent can be controlled, either a crash or a hard landing, as your jumper experienced. The inhabitants were weak, passive humans, weak in mind as well as body. Their life force was weak and more feeding was required to sustain us than with many human races. Our scientists studied them and found a brain disease which caused the weakness. Inbreeding for generations had exacerbated it. The disease was cured but the humans remained unhealthy and short lived. The scientists developed the decanting technique, increasing physical strength and life span. Still mentally slow but obedient-perfect slaves. Your human sensibilities are offended by slavery, but they would not be alive if not for our intervention. They were dying out as a species, and they have not the mentality to care for themselves. But we do have a problem. The fertilization process is done in a test tube, then transferred to the decanter. Few of the female humans have viable eggs. I have been considering a quest to another world to secure a suitable female."

Todd looked at Teyla. "My first thought was you, my dear. But my lead scientist fears your Wraith DNA will be a problem."

"Don't insult me and my people by calling me your 'dear,' Teyla said angrily. "And I would end my own life before I would submit to your research!"

The men looked just as angry, which amused Todd greatly. "In case you gentlemen are wondering, we have no use for your sperm!" he said with a laugh.

"I thought a hive needed a Queen," Rodney said, repulsed, but also curious as a scientist.

"The decanting process does not require one, but because of our traditions, we miss the presence of a Queen," Todd replied, looking again at Teyla and shaking his head. "A pity!"

"Why not cloning like you do with your drones?" Sheppard asked.

"We tried that first, but most of the human clones did not survive. The ones that did were unpredictable," Todd answered. "I believe I have covered everything. Do you have any other questions?"

"Yes," replied Sheppard. "Do you know about the rest of the Wraith?"

"But of course!" Todd answered. "I would have been on the fateful journey to your Earth if not for a failed, uh, what you would call a mutiny. My followers and myself were shot, put in a life pod, and sent into space. But the pod was caught in the force field of this planet, and landed as your jumper did. The others were dead, but I survived, tho barely. I was given several humans to feed on and I recovered. Since I have scientific knowledge, I joined the scientists in the decanting chamber. But being a leader at heart, I was soon in charge, after the former leader met with a most unfortunate accident," Todd replied, with a chilling smile. He then looked at Rodney. "Maybe you would enjoy working with my scientific team."

"I would rather eat worms!" Rodney said.

"Oh, that can be arranged," said Todd. "The humans here raise a species of worm they are quite fond of. They make a dish similar to your spaghetti."

Rodney turned pale.

"Never know when to keep that big mouth shut," Ronon muttered.

"You know," Sheppard said. "Our people on Atlantis are working to find a way to rescue us."

"I'm sure they are," Todd replied. "But the time has come for some rest." He nodded slightly and the drones stunned all four prisoners. They awoke back in the same cell.

Chapter 6

Three days had passed since the team was last heard from. It was evening on Atlantis, and Amelia sat in the bar with Jeannie and Joe. None of them had slept much. Torren was with his father on New Athos and Madison was there too, at a sleepover with some new friends. Then Amelia heard Chuck's voice over her com, telling her to go to the infirmary.

"What?" asked Jeannie. Amelia shrugged and headed off, the other's followed.

On the way, they heard a commotion in the Gate room. They saw an explosive detection robot, which Zelenka had recently finished building, picking up a small black box, placing it within, then exiting the Gate.

Arriving at the infirmary, they saw a groggy Teyla and Sheppard, and a less groggy Ronon, being examined by the doctors. Ronon pushed the doctor aside and ran to Amelia, engulfing her in a bear hug. They embraced and then Ronon went back to the exasperated doctor, Amelia holding on to his hand.

"Where is Rodney?" Jeannie demanded of Sheppard, who was rubbing his face, still feeling the effects of being stunned.

"As far as we know, back on the planet," Ronon answered for him.

"You left him behind?" said Jeannie.

Entering the infirmary, Dr. Beckett said, "Please everyone, let the doctors finish their exams!"

Mr. Woolsey, also unable to sleep, had been called from his quarters. "Meet in my office when you are finished," he told the team.

"What was going on with the robot?" Amelia asked. But Woolsey had already left.

By the time the exams were finished, Sheppard and Teyla were feeling somewhat better, and the three went to Woolsey's office.

Sheppard told an abbreviated version of what had happened, with Ronon and Teyla's help.

"The last thing any of us remember is being stunned, then waking up by a Gate. Todd's planet had none, so I have no idea where we were. Rodney was not with us. We were groggy, and still in shackles, but they were removed as the wormhole opened, and we were shoved thru, along with the black box. That's all I know. Maybe I will remember more by tomorrow. The jumper is still where we landed."

Woolsey's com beeped and he answered. It was Major Lorne with a report on the robot's findings. It was feared the black box was an explosive device but it turned out to be a disc player, complete with a hologram. Soon Lorne delivered it to Woolsey.

"Looks like my old Walkman," Sheppard said.

"What the hell is a walk man?" Ronon asked.

"A thing for listening to music while you walk," he answered. "But no one uses them anymore."

Ronon just shook his head.

Woolsey turned it on and a hologram appeared. It was Todd, saying,"I know you are all happy to see me alive and well!" Then he laughed wickedly. "Your scientist is the same-no torture or starvation. He will speak to you soon. Since Atlantis now knows the secret of my new home, I am willing to make, as you call it, a deal. I know you possess ZPM's, at least six, maybe more. I am willing to make a trade. Plus I know you will not attack us with your scientist here."

Then Rodney appeared, pushed by a drone. "Ow!" he said.

"Talk to your friends," Todd told him.

"I'm OK, they haven't injured me, tho I'm sick of fruit and the cot they finally gave me is uncomfortable!" Rodney complained, sounding very normal. "I'm their insurance policy so you won't attack." Then the drone pulled him out of camera range, but he could still be heard saying, "Must you be so rough? You're as bad as Conan!"

The team could not help laughing, relieved somewhat that he sounded normal.

Todd reappeared and continued, "I know you will wish to discuss my proposal. I will contact you the same time tomorrow and I will expect your answer. Hopefully it will be beneficial to us both, and not result in anyone's death."

Then the hologram disappeared. There was nothing to do but wait for the next twenty four hours.

"I should be treated with more respect!" Rodney complained to Todd.

"Whatever for?" said the Wraith.

"I am the most intelligent! Isn't that why you chose me to keep as your pawn?" he said irritably.

"I decided to keep you because you are not a fighter! The others, especially Ronon Dex, would be much more trouble!" Todd replied with a laugh.

Offended, Rodney stammered "B-but I can fight, and shoot too-well, sort of! My brain is more important!"

He scowled indignantly, as a drone prodded him to hurry back to his cell.

John and Teyla headed for their quarters, and Ronon for his. Amelia was waiting anxiously, and they embraced again. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine," he answered. "No fighting, it was boring! But I'm thirsty! She got two beers from the small fridge. Umm, you taste like beer," he said, kissing her again. He drank his beer down, taking off his boots and laying down on the bed. "I'll take a shower in a few minutes." Then he fell asleep. Amelia snuggled next to him and slept soundly.

The next morning Ronon awoke early, still in his clothes. Amelia was in her bathrobe, starting the coffee pot.

"Sorry I fell asleep. Phew! I really need a shower and clean clothes!" he exclaimed.

"I won't argue with you on that!" she replied.

"I could use some help washing," he said, nuzzling her neck as he untied the sash of her robe. His dirty clothes were lying on the floor.

"No argument there either," she answered, as the robe slid to the floor.

Later, they went to the mess hall for breakfast. John and Teyla had just arrived. "Woolsey is waiting for us. He was up bright and early," John said.

"Good for him," Ronon said. "He didn't get stunned three times and half starved!"

They finished eating and Amelia went to her station in the Gate room, and the three went to Woolsey's office. Major Lorne and Radek Zelenka were there also.

That evening, Sheppard, Lorne, and Zelenka waited with Woolsey for the databurst. At the appointed time, Todd's face appeared on a screen. "I trust you have come to an agreement," he said.

Woolsey, keeping a good poker face, answered,"Yes we have. We will let you have three ZPM's in exchange for Dr. McKay, alive and well. You will escort him thru our Gate personally and alone. If he is hurt in any way, you will be killed, and your world will be destroyed, and you know we have the weaponry to do it. If you refuse to cooperate, we will destroy your world anyway, including Dr. McKay."

"You would kill one of your own?" Todd asked.

"A quick death is preferable to leaving him in your hands," answered Woolsey.

"I have a suspicion that you have more ZPM's than you let on. I will ask for six, as I believe you acquired at least twelve from the hive ships on Earth," Todd said.

"Three is what you get. Take it or leave it, and we want our jumper and weapons back." Woolsey answered.

"I must give this some thought," Todd said. After a few minutes of silence, he said, "I will agree to four ZPM's, plus a human female with viable eggs. Surely there is one on Atlantis who is, shall we say, disposable?"

Woolsey's face did not betray his disgust. "That would never happen. The Daedalus is in orbit above your planet. Expect total destruction of your world."

Todd was silent again, then asked,"Is the lovely Dr. Keller still on Atlantis?"

"She is on Earth," replied Woolsey.

"I will agree to three ZPM's and Dr. Keller," said Todd. "I have a feeling she would not be difficult to convince to come to my world as a scientist. We will arrive in your jumper, as I understand Dr. McKay is able to fly it."

"I will need some time to locate Dr. Keller," replied Woolsey.

"I will contact you three days from now," replied Todd. Then the screen went dark.

"You would actually kill Rodney?" Radek said, his voice shaky.

"It's called negotiation," Woolsey replied. "But if it came to that, I'm sure he would rather die quickly. I know I would. But hopefully it won't come to that. We would of course try a rescue."

"I thought the Daedalus was on the way to Earth," said Sheppard, with a sly smile.

"Good bluff," said Lorne.

"If you would excuse me, I have much paper work to complete," said Woolsey. He went to his office, shut the door, sat down at his desk, and laid his head on folded arms.

The next day, Sheppard put in a call to Cheyenne Mountain. Within a few hours, he received a message back. He headed to Woolsey's office. "I have the info we need."

"Good!" replied Woolsey. "I will leave the details up to you. Advise me when you are ready to leave. You can go directly thru the wormhole."

Chapter 7

Sheppard called Ronon on his com. "I need to talk to you in my office."

"I'm just starting a training class," Ronon answered.

"Start a little late. It won't take long," Sheppard replied.

"What's the big deal?" Ronon asked.

"Lorne and I are headed for Earth," Sheppard answered. "I wanted you to know what was going on, and to understand why he is going instead of you."

"No problem. I might get in trouble again on your crazy planet!" Ronon replied.

"Exactly!" said Sheppard.

"Something I should know about?" Ronon asked.

"It's confidential, but of course I trust you. We are going to get Jennifer Keller, and trade her and three ZPM's for Rodney. Radek knows, and Teyla. She doesn't want to go to Earth either because of Torren."

"Is Keller willing?" Ronon asked.

"I hope so," Sheppard replied.

Soon after, Sheppard and Lorne arrived at Stargate Command. After a briefing with General O'Neill, a military jet flew them to Madison, Wisconsin. A car was waiting for them at a private airport. GPS directions took them to an apartment building. It was almost midnight when they arrived. They knocked on the apartment door several times before a sleepy Jennifer Keller answered. The two men pushed by her and Lorne locked the door, while Sheppard, stun gun drawn, cleared the place in case Keller had company.

"What is going on?" she demanded.

"Sorry to be so abrupt," Sheppard said, "but it was necessary. You need to pack a bag or two and come with us. You won't be coming back."

Jennifer looked terrified. Then Sheppard explained the whole story to her, and she began to relax. Her eyes lit up when Todd was mentioned. "He's not dead!" she exclaimed.

"I hope you will go with us willingly," Sheppard said.

Jennifer sighed, saying, "I've lost my medical license. I have a PhD and an MD, but the only job I can get is a medical records clerk in a hospital. Plus I'm on probation for five years. I will gladly go. I suppose I'm not too welcome on Atlantis."

"No you're not," Sheppard said. "But you will only be there until the exchange."

They flew back to Cheyenne Mountain, then thru the wormhole to Atlantis. It was very early morning and not many people were around. Amelia was working the Gate, and stared hard at Jennifer, who could not meet her gaze. Ronon had told her what was going on.

Keller was escorted to guest quarters, where a Marine guard would be stationed outside her door.

"Wasn't that Amelia Banks?" she asked.

"Yes," Sheppard answered, "She's Amelia Dex now."

Exactly on time, Chuck announced Gate activation. As ordered, the jumper containing Todd and a nervous Rodney flew thru. Rodney had received the ATA gene injection, but was terrified of flying a jumper. A squadron of Marines lined the Gate area, plus Sheppard, Ronon, Teyla, and Lorne, with his team. All had guns pointed at Todd, as he and Rodney disembarked. "Hands in the air!" ordered Sheppard. He didn't trust the Wraith not to have something hidden in his sleeves. Lorne and two Marines went in the jumper and retrieved the team's weapons. Ronon smiled when he was handed his blaster, looking directly at Todd.

Sheppard, along with Ronon, walked to Todd, carrying the case with the ZPM's. There was a tester inside, and Sheppard allowed Todd to test each ZPM to make certain it was charged. Ronon's blaster, set on 'kill,' was against Todd's head.

"You have my approval," Todd replied haughtily.

"Proceed with the prisoner exchange," Sheppard ordered.

Jennifer walked toward Todd, her eyes not leaving his face.

Rodney tried to run toward his teammates, but his legs were shaky and he stumbled, almost fell, and walked the remainder of the way. Two Marines caught him as he fainted.

Everyone moved out of the way as the Gate activated, then Todd and Jennifer stepped thru. All were relieved when the blue puddle disappeared.

Rodney was taken to the infirmary for a thorough exam. He complained loud and long about the uncomfortable cot, and how hungry he was. "Fruit does not fill me up, but that is all they gave me!" he lamented, as the doctor examined him.

"At least it wasn't citrus!" Sheppard replied.

"Or forced marching!" said Ronon.

"You guys are not a bit funny!" Rodney exclaimed, then loudly, "Ow, be careful!" as the doctor took a blood sample. Then, adding insult to injury, the doctor handed him a plastic cup. "What's this for?" Rodney asked, then said "Oh no!"

"What's wrong, can't you find it?" Sheppard said.

"Maybe he needs to sit," said Ronon.

"I need privacy!" Rodney whined.

The doctor told him to go in the restroom and leave the cup when he finished. He came out red faced.

"You two are barbarians," he told them, and they laughingly agreed.

Tests showed Rodney was no worse for wear, just stressed out, which was no surprise to anyone.

He was kept in the infirmary for a few days observation. The others visited him. He complained to Teyla about the guys picking on him, and she replied, "But didn't it help you relax?"

He thought for a minute and replied that it did take his mind off of his anxiety, more than if they had sympathized.

"They care about you a lot, as we all do," she said.

He had dozed off to sleep, helped by a light sedative, when Katie Brown tiptoed quietly to his bedside. "I was so worried about you," she said.

"I didn't think you even noticed," he answered sleepily.

"Well I did!" she replied.

Chapter 8

Rodney was requested to check out some strange scientific equipment found in a house near San Francisco. He objected, as he was busy with the new ZPM's, and exploring the labs on Atlantis' lower levels. But Woolsey told him he had no choice. He and Zelenka were to leave ASAP, accompanied by Col. Sheppard and Major Lorne.

They traveled thru the wormhole and met a detective from SFPD at the house.

"We were asked to do a welfare check," the detective told them. "The owner of the house, Dr. Frank Victor, had not been seen for months. He was reclusive, but checks were left for housecleaning and gardening workers. The checks stopped. Also no more grocery deliveries. We found a skeleton in one of the machines, blackened like it had been in a fire. It was taken to the crime lab, and forensic techs removed all residue from the inside of the machine. Damn thing looks like a phone booth! It turned out to be Victor's remains, but not a clue what caused the fire. Two FBI agents showed up. The guy was sort of weird, the woman was pretty. Red hair. She said to contact Cheyenne Mountain, and to tell Col. Sheppard 'hello'. I should be so lucky!"

The two scientists went down to the basement to check out the equipment, while the others went to the second floor.

"Two men appeared to be living here. We found ID in their bedrooms, no sign of foul play in either one," said the detective. "The owner, and Kavanagh, the cult leader who was on that weirdo's talk show. We assumed he had been killed in the terrorist attack." He gave Sheppard a quizzical look, saying," Know anything about that? I never thought it was terrorists!"

"Sorry, but we were all out of the country at the time," Sheppard replied.

The detective gave him a look like, "Yeah right!"

They found nothing of interest in the rooms.

Back downstairs, Rodney was bursting with excitement. "We need to get this equipment back to, uh, the office! But it's very heavy."

Zelenka looked worried, but said nothing.

"You can't remove anything, this might be a crime scene!" the detective replied.

"Then I declare martial law," Sheppard said. "Major, place him in handcuffs!"

"Wait a minute!" the detective implored. "I don't want any trouble with the government. The Chief of Police is already mad about the FBI butting in!" he said, and hurriedly left.

"Can you really declare martial law?" Rodney asked.

"No," Sheppard replied, "but it got him off our backs!"

They decided to wait until dark, then with the help of some Marines, load the equipment on military trucks. Then to a remote location where a cloaked jumper was waiting. Carson Beckett was the reluctant pilot and Ronon came along to provide more muscle. Sheppard saw no chance of him getting in trouble. No one looked forward to off loading the heavy machinery, and carrying it down to the lower level. The scientists were pressed into helping, Rodney complaining loudly that his back was broken, even tho he only carried a bunch of cables. Zelenka, the smallest of the group, was a trooper and never complained.

Rodney immediately set to work studying the machinery and the notes he had downloaded to his laptop. Dr. Victor's notes were in German, so he called a German speaking scientist to translate. Kavanagh's notes were rambling, but in English. Rodney ranted and raved so much that Radek told him, in both English and Czech, where he could stick the machines, and left.

Rodney had not been seen for two days. Jeannie became worried and called Sheppard. He, Ronon, and Teyla found Rodney sleeping, head down on his laptop. He woke up red eyed, complaining of a stiff neck, and talking excitedly about his discoveries. "These machines are great scientific advances!" he said over and over. The team was reminded of his frantic state of mind over the disastrous Attero device.

"This one will enable us to contact other dimensions, and this one is a time travel machine. Only forward, of course, backward would create a paradox! We can time travel right now! It's all ready! See these buttons? They must be pushed in sequence-green, yellow, red. Red must be last! The blue one operates the door."

"Didn't something like this nearly cause the time/space continuum tear that you were so upset about?" Sheppard asked, indicating the large box like apparatus with many dials.

"Well, yes, but I will make sure it is safe!" Rodney said.

"And a burned up skeleton was found in the other one!" Sheppard said.

"I figured out what happened," Rodney answered. "Dr. Victor made an error in calculation which caused him to burn up on the return trip. Kavanagh corrected it, then sent the skeleton into the far future. But he also made an error, and the time machine came back. But as you well know, I am a genius, and I have fixed the problems!"

Teyla rolled her eyes, and Ronon made a fart noise.

"No!" Sheppard said firmly. "Both machines should be dismantled!"

"Oh no!" Rodney wailed. "They will advance science greatly!"

"Or kill us all," said Ronon.

"Spoken like a true caveman!" Rodney replied angrily.

"This cave woman agrees," Teyla said.

"Bitch all you want, McKay, but the answer won't change," Sheppard replied. "We should not be messing with things like that. Not the purpose of this expedition. Those two weren't exactly reputable scientists-more like nut cases!"

Rodney looked angrily at the others, and said,"Why must I work with idiots?" He began looking for his ever present lap top, and remembered he had left it in the time machine. Reaching in, he stumbled and fell, ending up with his legs sticking out the door. His hand had hit the red button as he went down. Suddenly a loud humming was heard, and Rodney felt himself being pulled into the machine, his head pressing uncomfortably against the wall.

"Help!" he yelled. Ronon grabbed his ankles and pulled, but to no avail. Sheppard and Teyla grabbed Ronon's belt and pulled, but they were all drawn into the machine, and the door slammed shut. They all lost consciousness.

They awoke in an uncomfortable pile. Rodney in a fetal position on the bottom, Ronon next, his booted feet on Rodney's head. Then Sheppard, with Teyla on top. That was fortunate or she might have been crushed!

"Get off me!" Rodney tried to yell, but only had enough air to whisper. "Someone hit the blue button!"

Teyla could reach it, and the door opened. She climbed out and helped Sheppard off the pile. Ronon crawled out, as Rodney yelled,"Your big feet are killing my head!"

"You fell over your own feet, so shut up!" Ronon told him.

"Where are we?" Sheppard asked, as they all looked around, except Rodney, who was looking at his lap top.

"We are in Atlantis, only in the year 2200," he answered.

"This is not Atlantis!" said Ronon.

Rodney looked around, then cried,"Oh no! Dr. Victor had it set for his property! I forgot about that. We are on Earth, near San Francisco in 2200!"

Chapter 9

Dr. Victor's house was gone, replaced by a building that resembled a stack of shipping crates. Several other such structures could be seen nearby. Some workers were vacuuming the grass, which was artificial, as were all the trees and shrubbery. The team walked toward the workers, but were ignored. Closer inspection showed them to be human looking robots.

Then a group of people came out of the house. They were thin and unhealthy looking, with sparse hair, cut very short. It was impossible to tell if they were male or female. All wore loose tunics which came below their knees, and were barefoot.

The team all drew their guns. The people looked terrified, covering their faces, crying out, "Don't hurt us!"

"We won't hurt you!" Sheppard assured them.

"Who are you?" asked one of them.

"Is that a flying machine?" asked another. "We have heard of them but never seen one."

"Uh, yes it is," Sheppard answered. "We had engine trouble, and had to land. We'll be going as soon as we fix the problem," he said, looking pointedly at Rodney.

"Are those guns?" asked another person.

"Yes," Sheppard answered.

They all fell to their knees, imploring the guns not to shoot them.

"Put your guns away," Sheppard ordered.

"We won't shoot you!" he told the frightened group.

"But don't guns shoot on their own? We have never seen a gun, but it was said in the past that guns killed many people!" said one of the group, who seemed to be the leader.

"Only if a person pulls the trigger!" Sheppard answered.

The group looked relieved, stood up, and began removing pills and small bottles of liquid from their pockets, and taking pills.

"I apologize for our lack of hospitality. We have never seen people like you. Please come in and visit," said the leader.

The team hesitated, but decided it was safe, tho keeping hands near their weapons, followed the group inside.

The furnishings were minimalist, chairs and couches, and a long table with bench seats. A strange looking machine sat on a counter. It looked like a very large microwave with many dials, and several robot arms.

The people began inhaling white powder from small glass containers. "Would you like some?" asked the leader.

The team all shook their heads. "We don't use drugs," Sheppard said.

"How can you live that way?" one of them asked, shocked.

"We manage," Sheppard answered.

"Please sit," said the leader. "I am 7302," then introduced the others, all numbers.

Ronon preferred to stand, the others took seats.

"You have numbers for names?" Sheppard asked.

"Yes, numbers are gender neutral," answered 7302.

"Well, we have names. I'm John, this is Teyla, Ronon, and Rodney."

"It appears you folks are gendered," said 7302.

"What?" Sheppard exclaimed.

"Three of you appear to have male genitalia under your clothing," said 7302.

"Last time I looked!" Sheppard said.

Ronon snorted, Teyla hid a smile, and Rodney's mouth fell open.

"Except for Teyla, who appears to be female," said 7302.

"How did you guess?" Sheppard said.

"Because she has breasts and does not appear to have a male appendage," answered 7302.

"I was being sarcastic!" Sheppard exclaimed.

"We evolved beyond gender when human cloning was perfected," said 7302.

"It's time for us to eat, would you care to join us?" One of the 'numbers' was pushing buttons on the machine, then the robot arms removed several platters of what looked like Leggo parts.

"We'll stick to our energy bars," said Sheppard, the rest of the team agreeing.

"I have some jerky sticks," said Ronon, passing them around. "My wife makes sure I don't go hungry."

"Is that meat?" asked one of the numbers.

"Yes," Ronon said. "Some beef, some turkey."

The numbers all began wailing and covered their faces, then inhaled more powder and took more pills.

"We evolved beyond enslaving animals, then beyond enslaving plants," said 7302.

"So you eat plastic?" Ronon said.

"Not plastic, it is synthetic food with complete nutrition. Everything in our lives is synthetic," 7302 replied.

"Where does it all come from?" Rodney asked, his scientific curiosity aroused.

"The robots make it, as they do everything else for us," 7302 answered.

"Do you have any scientists?" Rodney asked.

"Not any more. We don't need them," 7302 replied.

"What do you do all day if robots do everything?" Rodney asked.

They all looked blank. Then 7302 said, "Well, we sleep, eat, talk, and sometimes pleasure ourselves or one another erotically."

"How do you, er, I mean without, um, a..." Rodney blushed, and the other three laughed.

"We have ways of doing it-we can show you," said 7302.

"No!" said the team, in unison.

Regaining his composure, Rodney asked, "Do you know how to repair the robots if they break down? Machinery doesn't last forever!"

The numbers looked blank again, then began inhaling more powder.

"We need to get on our way," Sheppard said, looking at Rodney. "If you will excuse us," he addressed the numbers.

"We need to rest," said 7302. "This has been exhausting!"

They went back to the time machine and Rodney began working at his lap top, snapping his fingers and muttering about error messages. The others sat under an artificial tree and tried to relax. They did not want to think about being trapped in this weird place.

But eventually Rodney yelled "I got it!" and began a lecture about what had happened when he hit the red button first.

"We don't need to hear about it, just get us home!" Sheppard said.

"Too much hot air," said Ronon.

Teyla just sighed.

They decided to sit, tho it was still crowded. Rodney pushed the buttons in sequence, then quickly sat. But this time no one lost consciousness, just a little light headed. Then a buzzer sounded and a light went on over the door. Rodney pushed the blue button, and the door opened to the familiar lab. Home! Ronon jumped through the door, pushing the others in front of him. Rodney yelled, "Ow! Not so rough Conan!"

They were discussing whether to tell Woolsey about their unauthorized excursion to the future. How would he react? Would he tell the IOA? Rodney might be in big trouble, even tho it was an accident. Then they heard voices and the door opened. It was Radek, Amelia, Jeannie, and Joe.

"Where have you been?" said Radek.

"We have been searching for you!" Jeannie exclaimed. "We were about ready to call Mr. Woolsey and report you missing!"

"We already looked in here!" said Joe. "That phone booth thing wasn't there when we were here before! What the hell is going on?"

Amelia and Ronon were hugging, oblivious to the conversation around them.

They were all relaxing in John and Teyla's quarters, with a bottle of Radek's moonshine. It was agreed the report would state that the machines were too unstable and dangerous to remain on Atlantis, and had been dismantled, loaded into a jumper, and shot into space in a remote part of the Galaxy, which was all true. The trip to the future would be their secret.

"I wonder if everyone on Earth will be like those people?" said Amelia.

"I hope not!" Ronon exclaimed.

"It a big planet," John said.

"Other parts may be different," said Jeannie.

"That future could change," Joe replied.

"That's only one possible future," said Rodney.

"There could be many possible futures, or they all could be happening on different time lines," Radek said.

"We need to focus on here and now," said Teyla, and they all agreed.

But Rodney looked wistful, and they all knew he would have loved to experiment more with time travel. But he had to agree it was too risky. They had enough problems with Wraith, Iratus bugs, and who knows what else!


End file.
